Union in Seattle

[tsquare]

The first week this place at 1st and Union (Seattle) opened, I sauntered in for a look at the place and the menu. A modern room, with nice detailing, colorful carpets, fine art, and handsome furniture. The menu - composed of a choice of a tasting menu or ala carte starters, seconds, mains, and dessert. Heavy on some rather challenging ingredients including liver, tongue, sweetbreads, but also full of seasonal foods and lively descriptions. New staff appeared uneven in experience and training, but excited and ready to start. Stayed for a cocktail – selected something with Champagne. The bartended apologized when he presented the bill – they hadn’t stocked a mixer brand of bubbly and the price of the drink seemed awfully high to him. Actually, it wasn’t that out of line – I think it was $8?

After giving them a month to settle in, stopped in for dinner. They haven’t done much to announce themselves. The room was very empty, though a dozen or so dinners were seated over the next hour. Offal was completely absent from the current menu (not that I would have selected any for myself.) I was told that the menu changes regularly and this was just coincidence. The tasting menu ($45) looked pretty interesting with smoked salmon, pork bellies, sturgeon, and, and a handful of other items including a cheese course and dessert. But not quite the night for that. I had a decent glass of wine ($8). Amuse bouche of a small cup of duck broth (stock?), rich and soothing, a little salty, but not overwhelmingly. A toothsome hedgehog mushroom risotto ($9) was accented with basil oil. Duck confit ($16), tender, salty, flavorful, was served atop braised chard with roasted figs and a port reduction (a heavier hand with the sauce would have been appreciated.) Bread appeared to be the ubiquitous rosemary bread. Overpowering for the delicacy of this cuisine. Remarkably, I didn’t have dessert – or even look at the menu.

The service was fairly formal, yet not really. A lot of production in the offering of silverware and it’s removal. I ended up with only a sharp knife for buttering bread. I felt as though they were concerned I might walk off with any unused utensils. Also, when plates were being removed or water refilled, the buser would excuse himself – I think it would be better if he was silent or else actually engaged in conversation. This just seemed awkward.

They do have something of a bar menu after 11 pm.

[mamster]

Thanks for the report, tsquare. I've been wondering about this place.

[tighe]

On a whim, scrat and I went to Union for dinner on Halloween night. I will admit to a morbid curiosity about a place trying to make it in what has seemed to be a doomed location and I’m a sucker for a good logo.

In short, the experience was excellent, offering a style and quality of dining that I think is unique and needed in Seattle.

The first positive for me was the space, the designers managed to strike a balance between contemporary, even chic, décor that still creates a warm and comfortable ambience. Perhaps Cascadia and E&O also aim for the same type of contemporary cool (as opposed to retro cool of El Gaucho and Oceanaire), but Union succeeds to an extent I’ve not experienced elsewhere in town.

Their wine list is both compact and intriguing, offering a variety of not well-known (to me at least) selections from both the new and old world. For those wanting to spend a lot on wine, those options are available, but I would say over half the list is in the $30-$50 range. I so much prefer this to being presented a tome, a la Canlis, which leaves me feeling lost, poor and frustrated. We went with wines by the glass, the list also short, but well composed.

The menu is fairly brief, offering half-a-dozen or so options each, under the headings ‘First Course’, ‘Second Course’ and ‘Entrée’. Union doesn’t have specials, but instead changes out several menu selections every day. As tsquare mentioned, they also have a $45 tasting menu that looked like it would be a good value. Decision-making was difficult, with probably 10 items jumping out as “ohhh, that sounds really good” dishes. To keep the dessert option in play, we settled on one starter and one entrée each, forgoing a roasted pork belly interlude in between.

Before the starters, we were presented with an amuse of minced tuna tartar mixed with green apple, shallots and chervil, topped with a dab of crème fraiche, all atop a crisp fried crostini. The balance of richness from the tuna against the apple and shallot was sublime.

My starter was duck confit salad; a layer of chilled, tender, salty and rich shredded duck meat topped with a layer of julienned celery root (very clean flavor) and an additional layer of frisee. Around the edge of the plate were dots of pomegranate vinaigrette. Scrat had Jerusalem artichoke soup, drizzled with pungent truffle oil. She said it rivaled the Jerusalem artichoke/sunchoke soups she had at Aquavit in New York and Cioppino’s in Vancouver.

For my entrée, I had a very tender pork chop in a Madeira jus with roasted cippolini onions (of the onion, not the bulb variety) and red chard. Scrat’s beef loin was the winner of the evening however; perfectly cooked with four ‘rounds’ of red-wine poached marrow on top and accompanied by roasted fresh porcinis and carrots. Exquisite.

For dessert we had the cheese plate that included five different cheeses, including a French goat’s milk blue and a startlingly good domestic cheddar.

Some quirks in the service were compensated for by a genuinely customer-focused attitude. The chef (Ethan LNU) came out after dinner and we chatted with him for a while. He’s cooked at Painted Table, Lampreia and Nell’s but got most of his training/experience in Atlanta. I have to say that the style of food reminded me quite of bit of Tim Kelly at his best.

If you’re considering a nice dinner out, go to Union, this place deserves to make it and it will be near the top of places I recommend to others.

[mamster]

That's exciting to hear, tighe.

[tsquare]

Very interesting - I couldn't decide what I though - wrote it out to help it gel. Was there enough sauce for you tighe? I thought of you when there wasn't any left in my bowl. Can you believe we both passed on the pork bellies (sorry mamster) and didn't sample the pastries (sorry nsm). Neither of us mentioned - the wine list also has a fairly large selection of half-bottles, as well as magnums.

[tighe]

Very interesting - I couldn't decide what I though - wrote it out to help it gel. Was there enough sauce for you tighe? I thought of you when there wasn't any left in my bowl. Can you believe we both passed on the pork bellies (sorry mamster) and didn't sample the pastries (sorry nsm). Neither of us mentioned - the wine list also has a fairly large selection of half-bottles, as well as magnums.

Whether there is enough sauce or not is one of the great metaphysical questions of life, not so easily answered....

I thought the sauce amount on my entree was adequate, if not generous. On scrat's beef dish, it was fairly minimal, but somehow that was OK with everything else it had to offer.

The problem with their dessert options is that I'm such a chocolate whore, that when I didn't see any chocolate options, I kind of lost interest. Our server said the apple crisp was getting raves and some of the other things that went by looked very nice. The most intriguing option to me was the roasted figs with cardamom ice cream. The cheeses were fantastic, so I have no regrets.

Halfs and magnums, yes! About 6 of each as I recall and the magnums weren't necessarily of really expensive stuff. It would be a great option if you went there with a group.

If you were wavering on your overall verdict, there must have been some things that didn't do it for you. Other than the service issues you noted, were there other things that you didn't like?

Edited November 4, 2003 by tighe (log)

[Coop]

This place sound's interesting. What used to be in that location? It doesn't ring a bell address wise for a frequent visitor like myself. Is it towards Belltown or Pioneer square from the Market?

[mamster]

It used to be Marcha, right?

[tsquare]

The chef (Ethan LNU)

This would be Ethan Stowell, I presume, owner of the place?

I think I was surprised by how much the menu differed from the first one I saw - it could have been very disappointing to someone looking for offal, for instance. Also, I though the food and room were well executed, but the service wasn't quite so much - it created a disconnect for me. It was also very dull in there - not lively. I don't care for a lot of noise, but some sense of enjoyment around is appreciated.

I'm curious about your take on the decor - I liked it, but didn't find it strikingly better than Brasa, 727 Pine, Waterfront, Zoe, Flying Fish, or even Fish Club. Different, and handsome, but in what ways was so it that much better? We've got carpet, dark wood, upholstered benches, nice lights, mirror, voltives, artwork...I did like the weight and height of the chairs - no dangling feet, no tipping over.

[tsquare]

It used to be Marcha, right?

Right.

[tighe]

The chef (Ethan LNU)

This would be Ethan Stowell, I presume, owner of the place?

I think I was surprised by how much the menu differed from the first one I saw - it could have been very disappointing to someone looking for offal, for instance. Also, I though the food and room were well executed, but the service wasn't quite so much - it created a disconnect for me. It was also very dull in there - not lively. I don't care for a lot of noise, but some sense of enjoyment around is appreciated.

I'm curious about your take on the decor - I liked it, but didn't find it strikingly better than Brasa, 727 Pine, Waterfront, Zoe, Flying Fish, or even Fish Club. Different, and handsome, but in what ways was so it that much better? We've got carpet, dark wood, upholstered benches, nice lights, mirror, voltives, artwork...I did like the weight and height of the chairs - no dangling feet, no tipping over.

Yes, that's the Ethan, just couldn't recall his last name (LNU = last name unknown; an unecessary addition on my part).

Not sure if I can totally articulate why the decor/ambiance appealed to me so much, but it did. Compared to the places you mention.....

Waterfront & Zoe - haven't been so can't say.

Brasa - pretty comparable I guess, but I just don't like it as much.

727 - I like it, but with such high ceilings and the giant mirrors, there is something of an inhuman scale that doesn't lend itself to comfort for me.

FF - so deafening that my eyes are usually clamped shut , also seems more industrial.

Just my taste, but I enjoy quiter, more sedate restaurant atmosphere. The chef sort of apologized to us for how quiet things were the night we were there, but it was fine with me. I'm interested to go back when they're busy and see what the volume is like.

...and before Marcha, it was Mediterranea and before that another Greek place......

[tsquare]

...and before Marcha, it was Mediterranea and before that another Greek place......

the earlier place, started with an "A" I recall?

[Coop]

Does anyone know thier policy on bringing your own bottle of wine?

[tsquare]

Is it towards Belltown or Pioneer square from the Market?

It is across the street from the South end of the Market - one block South of Pike and the piggy bank/big sign/fish throwers.

Or one block North of the Seattle Art Museum.

Or one block West and across the street to the North (it's on the NE corner of 1st and Union) of Benaroya Hall.

You'd think the location would be blessed, not cursed, with all that going for it.

Oh, and they have valet parking if you drive West on Union and stop at the corner. (Or they did - might be worth checking if you need this service.)

[syd-vicious]

Does anyone know thier policy on bringing your own bottle of wine?

$15 Corkage fee.

[syd-vicious]

Is it towards Belltown or Pioneer square from the Market?

It is across the street from the South end of the Market - one block South of Pike and the piggy bank/big sign/fish throwers.

Or one block North of the Seattle Art Museum.

Or one block West and across the street to the North (it's on the NE corner of 1st and Union) of Benaroya Hall.

You'd think the location would be blessed, not cursed, with all that going for it.

Geez, you WOULD think, wouldnt'cha…

Yes, it is an ideal place to be in many ways.

I think (and fervently hope) along the lines of "if you build it, they will come." Consistently (important word here) good food and service, attentive to its target audience, should be (like anywhere) what cements a business there. Tall order, but it's not like anyone belives the restaurant business is a walk in the park (well, I think some people do, but they're not around too long).

To be sure, this area's had it's definite growing pains, not to mention the troublesome Pike street corners but really, the spot's just had a really unfortunate run of back luck for one reason or another. Different style altogether, but remember, back in the day the Aegean had customers coming out of their ears.

Time will tell, especially after the Washington Mutual/Art Museum behemoth is built across the street (on Union).

[tighe]

I went and found the colunm where Nancy Leson first discussed Union in August and there are a couple interesting tid bits. One is that the chef, Ethan Stowell, is the son of the Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, the artistic directors for Pacific Northwest Ballet

[tighe]

The first of what I believe (hope) will be a series of good press reviews of Union courtesy of The Stranger.

[Coop]

So last weekend Mrs Coop, another couple and myself had dinner at Union. For some reason I thought this would be the place for the highlight dinner of our annual weekend in Seattle. We had already dined at Le Pichet, Brasa and Sazerac in about 36 hours. This dinner could have been anit-climatic, but no. We had brought a bottle of Quilceda Creek Cabernet from my cellar and handed it over to the wine guy. We were sat at our table and our waiter Bradford let us know about the various menu options. We started with a bottle of Matanza Creek Sauvignon Blanc. Our Amuse Bouche was a pear salad perfectly dreesed in a vanilla bean vinegrette. I think you probably already know this was a perfect match.

Myself and the other gent at our table decided on the Tasting menu while the ladies went thier own way. The tasting menu started with a tuna tatare. It was dressed with a citrus oil type sauce, also very nice with the vino. Next we were brought a black sriped bass filet on an avocado mousse. In between the bass and the mousse was some fennel perfectly dressed in some very rich olive oil. Now this was a great dish.

At this point we ordered a bottle of Jade Mountain Mouvedre. It turned out to be a bit raisiny, but very nice. The next dish was a sweetbread, breaded lightly and sauteed, topped with a bit of frissee, in a bacon vinaigrette. Very well executed. Now came the wine of the evening my Quilceda Creek. A bit tired but still herbaceous and olivey. Thin on the finish, five years or so past it's prime. It was accompanied by slices of perfect rose duck breast on chaterellle mushrooms. Not a combination I would have chosen, but very successful none the less.

We were brought a peice of cheese about the size of a big mouthful with some salad greeens and some walnut bread. This small piece of cheese had the most intense flavour one could imagine. It had to be eaten in miniscule pieces. A perfect cheese course. Unbelievable really. We finished with some sort of choclate mouse napolean. It was really nice but anticlimatic after so many great savoury dishes.

My friend and I are very lucky to have wives that want to share there dishes with us. So we also had tastes of a great potato soup with a slick of truffle oil on the top, a good chicken breast with some roasted veg and some brilliant smoked salmon, grilled on one side sitting on haricot verte with a horseradish creme fraise.

I always have a great time when we travel to Seattle with our friends, so my judgement is always tainted, but this was really a dinner that will always stand out. Great food, paired with thoughtful service in a nice room. The owner Ethan came by our table, we found him to be a truly likeable fellow. I would think that he is in for a very succesful run at 1st and Union. After a couple of hours it was time to head out into the cold Seattle air and find our way up to Tulio's for a night cap, before being tucked into our beds in the W hotel.

Edited November 28, 2003 by Coop (log)

[tsquare]

Now serving lunch M-F. Knock a couple of bucks off the dinner prices.

[tsquare]

and it looks like lunch is doing good business.

[syd-vicious]

and it looks like lunch is doing good business.

Yes! It's great to walk by and see people all along the window and nice large tables full inside - what I've hoped I would see before too long. Looks like that review really got the word out. Yay.

[MsRamsey]

Andrew and I had dinner at Union last night, and the food was outstanding. The amuse was Kohlrabi Foam that was fresh and sweet. This was my husband's first experience with culinary foam , and he loved it. We shared Guinea Hen Rillettes, which is a confit served with light-as-air toast rounds and a frisee salad that included bits of bacon.

We then each had the Watercress Soup. We were each brought a bowl in which a quenelle of foie gras mousse rested atop of one of those airy toast rounds. The server then poured the soup from a gravy boat into the bowls. The metallic, buttery, green flavor of the soup was great with the creamy mousse. I couldn't really detect much cream in the soup. Possibly a bit and a lot of butter and veal stock.

For our main course, I had the lamb chops (suggested by the waiter) and Andrew had sturgeon. The lamb was cooked beautifully and accompanied by very buttery slices of carrot and artichoke heart (yummy!). The sturgeon was juicy and perfectly cooked (not overcooked, as it usually seems to be) and accompanied by salsify and I can't remember what else. Now that I know what salsify is, I want more.

Our wine was a delightful red grenache/syrah mix from the Rhone called Cuvee de la Tour Sarazzine Gigondas. Andrew asked me to write down the name after his first sip.

Dessert for him was Pecan Tart with Bourbon Ice Cream. I had Pear and Pineapple Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream. These were good; perhaps a bit too sweet. I'd like to see their desserts come up half a notch, but they were good. Smart people order from their large cheese selection, and I'll probably be one of those people next time. I take issue with the very perfunctory menu descriptions of the cheeses. Amping up the descriptions may entice more people to order cheese.

Service was very nice. Unfortunately, I overheard several parties make unkind comments to our very good server about unusual ingredients and the pace that their courses were coming out. This made me a little sad. In a conversation with our server, we learned that many customers don't seem to understand the restaurant--mainly its slow pace and smallish servings (we had no problem with the the size of servings). Union's emphasis is freshness of flavor, which I guess some people don't get.

Andrew said it was the best restaurant meal he's had in a long time. Everything listed on the 5-course tasting menu sounded great too. Can't wait to go back.

Bravo!!

Edited December 29, 2003 by MsRamsey (log)

[syd-vicious]

Weekly came out with a review (sorry, I don't know how to link an address yet)

http://seattleweekly.com/features/0401/040107_food_union.php

Though I've got to respectfully (but strongly) disagree w/the "ugly duckling" tag.

I've just now gone through the KUOW thread and though I didn't have a chance to listen today, I'd probably have had a similar feeling as MsRamsey:

"I was negatively inclined toward Millbauer before today's show because I had just read her poorly written review of Union."

Again, I'm a homer, but I was perplexed.

Edited January 10, 2004 by syd-vicious (log)

[tsquare]

It was a good thing she loved the food. I didn't understand her issues with the interior design either. Not as though the restaurant can change the exterior much. Maybe she likes fern bars.

Your link works swell. If you want to call it something else - you copy the link into the http:// code button, hit okay, and then enter the new name. It took me a long time to get that instruction.